Hazardous Waste Essay

The general principals for environmental cleaning are to ensure the hospital environment is as clean as possible to reduce the risk of infection, and that all precautions are taken in accordance to legislation and Healthcare policy’s and guidelines. “To prevent the transfer of micro-organisms which may cause infection, and to prevent the transfer of foreign protein which may cause adverse reaction and pose the risk of spreading diseases e.g. vCJD. “

Nuclear waste is a radioactive waste that is dangerous, and a fair percentage of people would agree on this topic. However, is it really dangerous or is it just harmful to an extent? In society, many debates are held over trying to prove to the world that this substance is harmful. In the essay, “Nuclear Waste,” Muller states clearly that he sides with the anti-nuke of the debate and how he pinpoints the facts of nuclear waste with great persuasion. Yet, it is uncertain whether Muller clearly has a good argument and/or answers the questions that many people linger to know.

Over the past couple of years a new environmental issue has taken place illegal dumping, which is astoundingly different than the environmental issues that the City of Houston has been commonly known for, although it has devastating effect. In, fact what is rather unusual for this issue unlike the issues of air pollution the oil and gas industry has little to no involvement with creating the issue. While the city of Houston and Galveston had created guidelines for handling illegal dumping in 1999 the need to address this issue returned in early 2015.

The next Superfund that has greatly influenced the environment of Butler County is the Skinner Landfill. The Landfill is on 85 acres in West Chester (2). The facility was privately owned and was never actually licensed, so it closed in the 1970's (5). The landfill contains about 100 drums of chlorinated organics, and heavy metals. Along with the presence of the drums is the fact that a nearby lagoon was once used as a disposal for these contaminants, and that the site had problems with unauthorized dumping (5). Fortunately, no contaminants have been discovered leaving the site (5). The presence of these

Inspections of the garbage trucks, however, have been stepped-up since January 1, 2003.  The Department of Environmental Quality conducts inspections at the border, which include radioactive detecting equipment, and follows the trucks to the dump to ensure proper disposal.  Since September 2003 seven trucks have been turned back because equipment detected radioactive material in the waste.  One truck, which was dripping blood, was found to be illegally taking medical waste to Carleton Farms Landfill.  The Drug Enforcement Agency reported one of the largest drug busts in

Municipal solid wastes are leftovers made by the population such as food, plastic bottles, household wares and many more. These items referred by most as “the garage” or “trash”. (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2015) In the early 1900’s, incinerators were used to burn waste however by the Mid-20th century, lawmakers enacted the first government regulations in an attempt to address increasing concerns about the environmental impact of unregulated waste management practices. With the first waste management legislation being passed in 1965, brought along the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, thus bringing us into a new world of waste management.(Vault, n.d.)

The purpose of the landfill was to bury the large amount of contaminated the soil with toxic Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB), a class of chemicals so toxic that Congress banned production later. The whole story began in 1973 when Ward PCB Transformers Company dumped more than 30,000 gallons of PCB-contaminated oil on the side of state roads in 14 North Carolina counties. The trucker, who was responsible for taking the oil to a facility to be recycled, disposed of it discreetly and illegally. The person in charge of the company and the trucker was sent to jail for a short time for their negligence on the matter. Contaminants left in the truck and factory was detoxified. However, the area around the factory as well as the lakes and rivers close to the road had been polluted. As a result, more than 60,000 tons of oils were polluted with toxic PCB.

Superfund sites are districts in communities that have abandoned hazardous wastes on territories that need immediate removal.In the early 70’s the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 encouraged Superfund statues in Washington and these statues handle issues associated with land pollution and abandoned hazardous waste on territories .Superfund acts aid Washington and environmental agencies with removing hazardous waste and it also, allows them to pursue people and corporations that own hazardous waste territories. The principles for the Superfund acts include the quick removal of hazardous materials when environmental regulations demand it, bringing legal disputes against owners of hazardous waste territories, initiating communities and states in waste removal processes and developing extended programs that protect citizens from hazardous waste territories .In the late 70's environmental advocates discovered the contamination at the Superfund site called the Love Canal in Niagara Falls ,NY and they also discovered the surrounding territories contained pollutants and abandoned hazardous waste .The Love Canal is New York states first case of environmental neglect by a corporation and this community and facilities contained hazardous polluted water and dirt that resulted from years of accidental spills ,leaks and irresponsible business recycling

Where toxic waste is disposed of is one of the reasons why racism and classism leads to environmental factors. As referred in an article called ”Emelle, Alabama:

Actions are Unethical - Definition of ethical behaviour is broader than just its legality. Organizations have a broader responsibility to its stakeholders which include the surrounding communities and the environment. Government agencies are influenced by industry and do not always prioritize the interests of the public. How can any waste dumping be safe?

This case highlights the likelihood of friendly relations between industry and government. It was recorded that Ford Motor Company dumped paint waste from 1967-1971. I find it hard to believe that not a single government official considered looking into where all of the company’s waste was being disposed of within that four-year period. It also took the federal government until the 1980s to list this area of Ringwood, New Jersey as one of the most toxic superfund sites. While I do understand that historically the United States has had strong ties between industry and government I find it appalling that both federal and state governments failed to advocate for the Ramapoughs.

In spite of the fact that the earth is their home, they treat its streams and rivers as a sewer for their own personal gain. USS-Clairton Works Iron and Steel Mill, for example, dumped a reported 2,213,136 pounds of toxic chemicals into the Lower Monongahela River. This pollution will adversely affect the environment for years to come, even if we do our best to remove the chemicals. Studies have shown that most pollution incidents are due to negligence and bad practice. Obviously, this means that the pollution could have been avoided if these companies strictly adhered to a comprehensive pollution prevention program. Certainly there are a number of companies who have such a program in place and are committed to limiting their pollution, but the vast majority do not. As a result, the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory 2012 shows that various watershed regions in Pennsylvania are ranked among the top twenty most polluted in the United States.

Hazardous materials can be important in everyday life when properly handled. However, when improperly handled, they can result in injury, death, and destruction as well as have lingering effects that may last for years to come. To address the risk of an uncontrolled hazardous materials release, there must be a coordinated effort to identify, locate, and quantify the hazardous materials in a particular location (Drexel University Safety & Health, 2001). Typically, industry and government agree that a hazardous materials incident is one where

In the 1920’s, the city bought the land at public auction, which became the municipal and chemical disposal site. (Beck) The city of Niagara Falls and The United States also participated in dumping garbage, military warfare material, and Manhattan Project. This was a disposal site for more than twenty years, until Hooker Chemical Company purchased the site for their chemical disposal. (Beck) In 1953, the Hooker Chemical Company filled the canal with twenty-two thousand tons of waste in barrels, which leaked, broke apart when being dump, and poured into the soil. (Gibbs) In addition, to avoid contaminants leaked to the top layer soil they would cover them up with cinders, ash, clay or loom to decrease the spill. (Gibbs)

Toxic waste has many major effects on individuals and not just on a society as a whole. Some effects include “cancer, genital deformities, lower sperm count, obesity and diminished I.Q.” (Kristof par 2). This just goes to show that companies are hurting people way more than they think. Companies are disposing of toxic waste because it is helping them to make more money, but what they don’t realize is that